USA, MI: Lake Charlevoix Brewing Company looking to expand current operations

The Lake Charlevoix Brewing Company wants to expand its current operation by taking over a space that was rented by Keweenaw Excursions in Charlevoix, MI, Petoskey News reported on December 29.

On December 28, Rich Bergmann, co-owner of the brewery, presented his plan to the Main Street/Downtown Development Authority board.

“We are a brewpub today,” Bergmann said. “We can brew beer and sell it on premise only. To self-distribute, which is our next strategic step, we need to have a brewer's license. That requires us to have a separate address from the brewpub.”

That space the brewery would like to use is 109 Bridge Park Drive, which is labeled “ex-retail space” in the current Keweenaw Excursions lease.

According to Bergmann, Jason Funkey, co-owner of Keweenaw Excursions, informed brewery owners on Nov. 9 that they were selling the boat, boat equipment and office supplies.

On Nov. 19, brewery co-owner and newly elected Charlevoix City Council member Aaron Hagen and Bergmann met confidentially with Main Street/Downtown Development Authority director Annie Doyle and city manager Mark Heydlauff to discuss plans the brewery owners have for that space.

“They presented their intentions for the space and that was it,” Doyle said. “No agreements were made with the brewery about renting that property.”

Heydlauff said he was in the meeting only because Bergmann requested to meet with him. He did not know that Hagen would be there and was unaware of the business plan, but after hearing the plan Heydlauff felt the proposal required more study.

“The city did not arrange a deal for renting DDA property,” Heydlauff said. “My feeling is the space should be advertised, but that is up to the DDA. Just because a proposal is made does not mean the board is obligated to accept it.”

Since the Nov. 19 meeting, Doyle has not heard formally from Funkey or his brother Kraig, who are co-owners of Keweenaw Excursions.

“It is obvious they are gone, but they have not told us they are not renewing their lease,” Doyle said.

The intent of the brewery owners is to lease the 600-square-foot space at the same rate they lease the other space at $7 per square foot. The proposed lease presented to the board would give the brewery owners the space at $354.08 per month. Keweenaw Excursions paid $550 per month to rent the same space.

Doyle suggested that because this is a public space there at least should be an advertisement or posting from the board to see if any other renters would be interested.

“We need to be transparent on this process,” Doyle said. “It is sort of a strange relationship we have this property because (the DDA) is a public entity and also acts in the capacity of a landlord at the same time.”

Another person also is also interested in the same space, said Dan Barron, Main Street/Downtown Development Authority chairman. Barron prefers to go through a vetting process, giving other people a chance to present their plans for the space.

“I think it is an important to be transparent and go through the process of posting this space,” Barron said. “This needs to be public on what we are looking for to fill that space.”

Because of the time sensitivity for licensing, Bergmann would prefer to have this process move quickly.

“We understand there needs to be a posting on the space,” Bergmann said “We request to be back on the agenda in January because we need to file for this license in January if we want to get up and running before June.”

Before the space is leased there will be an advertisement for other potential renters and the facilities committee will determine the conditions of the lease. The committee will look at shared utilities and insurance costs along with other things before posting the space, said board member John Yaroch.

“We will come up with some guidelines for potential renters so they know terms and what to expect to pay for renting that space,” Yaroch said.

30 December, 2015